Thank You
by Cappuccino-Dreams
Summary: Atobe had a heart-attack but won't accept it. Tezuka is by his side to the end. TwoShot, AtoTez Friendship, Character Death. Rated T for angst and to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

**Since I kind of can't write a good chapter to "Unexpected Love", I'm going to write some other stuff instead :P ^^" Sorry about this, but i'm working on the next chapter for "Unexpected Love"  
**

**The original idea was a OneShot, but it seems it became a TwoShot instead ^^"**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis nor it's characters. I only own this TwoShot.  
**

**-----**

I was sick. I knew it, I just didn't want to accept it. I blamed that incident on that I didn't eat any breakfast. I knew I was wrong.

It was weird, I was fine just seconds ago. Suddenly I felt a pain in my chest. I dropped my racket, clutched my chest right were the heart is and fell down to my knees. The man on the other side of the court shouted my name and ran to my side. And then, everything went black...

-----

When I woke up, I wondered where I was. It was most definitely not my room, that I was sure of.

"Atobe."

I looked to my side and saw my very close friend. I remembered what happened.

"Tezuka. What happened?"

He looked away. He never looks away.

"You... collapsed on the court..."

I arched my eyebrow.

"I know that much myself. And where am I?"

"In the hospital..."

Okay, Tezuka certainly didn't behave as usual.

"Tezuka... What happened?"

"You... had a heart-attack..."

"WHAT!? How!?"

I... certainly didn't expect to hear that. I didn't want to believe it, even if I knew it was true.

"I don't know. The doctor's wanted to speak with you first."

"Well, where are they!? I want an explanation, and fast."

I was frustrated.

"Atobe, calm down."

"How can I calm down when-!"

"Please."

He looked scared. I wonder why...

"..."

"..."

"Why... do you care so much about me?"

I was surprised by my own question.

"Because you're very precious to me."

That... meant a lot to me. For some reason it made me really happy to hear that. Of course I'm happy, even if we're close friends we haven't said anything like that to each other. It's just... it made me more happy than I imagined I would be.

"Atobe?"

Ah, I haven't said anything...

"Ah..."

Why was I speechless? I've never been speecless before...

"Are you alright?"

When he asked that, something triggered in me. If I had a weak heart, then that meant no more tennis, right? No, no...I don't have a weak heart. I was just stressed then. Yes, just stressed...

"Atobe?"

He sounded worried now.

"What?"

"...You look pale."

"I just...thought of something..."

"..."

The door opened and in came two men in white coats. Doctors, obviously.

"May we speak to you alone, Atobe-kun?"

I glared hard at them.

"If you have anything to say, you can say it to the both of us."

"..."

"Very well."

They didn't look too happy. I got a bad feeling about this...


	2. Chapter 2

"Atobe-kun, as your friend have probably already said, you had a heart-attack."

Stating the obvious, are we?

"Yes, and i want to know why and how. Ore-sama is very healthy and works out on a regular basis."

"It doesn't have anything to do if you're healthy or not... you simply have a weak heart."

I didn't want to hear it.

"...How come? Shouldn't I have collapsed before if I have a weak heart?"

Tezuka looked a tiny bit surprised. Probably because I dropped the "Ore-sama".

"We're not really sure of the cause, we just know that for some reason you're heart have become drastically weakened in a short set of time."

"So... You don't know why I had a heart-attack?"

I was really pissed now. Saying I had a heart-attack but don't know why or how... some doctors they are.

"Yes... We've had this cause before, and we're really clueless to what the cause is..."

"The only thing we know is..."

I've got a really bad feeling now.

"Yes? Spit it out."

I really didn't want to hear it...

"You are going to die in about a month..."

I widened my eyes. Tezuka did too.

"Don't mess with me!! I... I won't accept this!"

I was angry, frustrated, sad, terrified. A jumble of emotions I couldn't control.

"Calm down, Atobe."

He sounded so calm. It hurt me.

"How can you sound so calm, Tezuka!?"

My breath was ragged and I didn't feel so good.

Then, I felt arms around me.

"Please, calm down... I don't want to see you like that again."

_"You're very precious to me."_

Yes, he said that. I understood that he was just as confused inside as I was. I calmed down.

The two doctors stood up.

"We'll let you go tomorrow, but don't do anything too stressful or things as such."

"...Can I... play tennis?"

I feared the answer.

"No. It would be too much for your heart."

"..."

I was crushed. The words hurt more than when I collapsed on the court that day. It seems Tezuka noticed. Of course he would, he loves tennis just as much as I do. He just stood there, looking at me, speechless. He didn't know what to say. I wasn't surprised.

-----

Two weeks have passed since they let me out of the hospital. Tezuka, he... he's really a good friend. He stopped playing tennis just so he could take care of me. It's a nice thought, but I really didn't want him to stop because of me. He really is a precious friend to me.

"Keigo."

I'm glad though... In the span of two weeks we have become close enough to be on first-name basis.

I smiled a small smile at him.

"What is it, Kunimitsu?"

"Do you want to go on a walk with me?"

"Of course."

It have become a habit for the two of us to take a walk at this time of the day, so he doesn't really have to ask. But I guess it's a habit for him to ask and for me to answer.

As usual, we take a stroll through the park and stop by a café to just chat a bit.

Later, we walk to the street courts where we meet most of our teammates but also people from other school's such as Rikkai, Yamabuki, Fudomine and St. Rudolph.

It's a bit saddening that I can't play myself, but it's still fun to watch the others play. I'm still the captain of Hyotei tennis club, so I'm still coaching and teaching my team. I can't leave the team to anyone else. Not now. They have to grow a bit more. Then it will be fine.

-----

Another two weeks have passed, and I'm really afraid these days. I have become so fragile... I can barely walk properly without holding onto someone.

Tezuka is still by my side. I can see that he is afraid too. He doesn't want to lose me, and I don't want to leave him. Not like this.

We still have our walks. And that's when it happened. I felt a familiar pain in my chest and my legs wouldn't carry me anymore.

"Kuni...mitsu..."

I was so afraid...

"Keigo!"

Again, everything went black.

-----

I woke up at the hospital again. This time though, my breath was ragged and my sight unfocused.

I could feel that someone was holding my hand. Once again, I looked to my side. It was Kunimitsu. Of course, who else would it be? But I didn't like the sight... he was crying while he clutched my hand.

I tried to move my hand. It wouldn't move. But I was stubborn. Finally, my hand listened to me. I brushed away strands of hair from Kunimitsu's face and wiped away his tears. He looked me in the eyes.

I smiled a weak smile.

"Don't... cry..."

When I said that in my weak and ragged voice, he just cried even more. I saw that he tried to stop the tears, but he couldn't.

I felt cold and really tired. I closed my eyes.

"Keigo... don't go..."

My hand limped in Kunimitsu's grasp. There was one more thing I wanted to say, but I had already fallen to a deep, deep sleep that I would never wake up from...

_Thank you, for everything._


End file.
